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[brucewaynegretzky]

Oh yeah, why is Batman the Worlds Greatest Detective again? He does a fair amount of investigation and evidence gathering in the first two movies (although not a whole lot I'll concede) but in this one its like he puts on the suit for one interrogation and a couple of fist fights.

If you've seen anything else I've ever posted you'll see this is pretty much my major gripe with just about every Batman movie out there. My theories on why it happens:

1.) Writing a good detective story is hard.
2.) Writing a good detective story with the requisite action for a summer film is REALLY hard.
3.) Large audiences really DON'T like overly intelligent protagonists because they often find them to be "jerks." They would rather someone who is really "intense" and goes off on long winded speeches that reinforce their morals. (This is what I call the "SVU vs. Criminal Intent" theory.)
4.) A lot of people just don't know the history of Batman so Hollywood wants to cater to the public perception rather than realize that they control the perception because they reach the largest audience. If they just put out a good detective Batman movie people would integrate that into their view of the character.

 

[SickBoy]

Surprised by the degree of disappointment in this thread. Saw it last night and enjoyed it. Perhaps not the greatest film in the trilogy, but good.

However, one thing drove me nuts: I totally recognized the cop who gave the order to blow the bridge, but couldn't put my finger on who he was. Anyone?

 

[The Technomancer]

That's one of the side effects of my major issue. The 8 year shut in with a sudden extreme terrorist attack causes batman to barely do anything detective. Not enough time in the Batsuit at all.

There just isn't a whole lot of Batmanning in this movie. TDK had the same problem but Joker was an interesting enough character that you enjoyed watching him on-screen instead.

 

[Sanjuro]

I can't justify people complaining about Selina's screen time. I'm going to be re-watching the film today, but she seemed to get the short end of the stick anyway.

Action cop, John Blake did get a much more healthy portion.

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

So how does this make sense? It seems like an extremely complex plan for no other reason than to be a dick towards Batman. Bane literally says "I will give Gotham false hope, then take it away" and even sets him up with a nice cable tv in "the worst hell on earth" [HUGE quotation marks there, if that place is hell on earth I don't know what earth they're on].

In theory "give hope, take it away" a nice plan to break hearts and minds, but taking something away by detonating an atomic bomb kind of renders the point you're trying to make mute, doesn't it? What is the point of having 5 months of martial law where most people just sit in their home watching tv? I mean, there was no sense of dread or terror whatsoever. There was food, electricity, cable tv.

The entire second half of the movie I was just constantly thinking "what the hell is going on here?". Am I missing some essential plot point?

I might be wrong about this, but allowing Gotham to erupt into anarchy seemed more of a way for Talia to enact here revenge on Bruce by making him slowly suffer through the pain of having to watch. If they were instead just following through with the League's intended aims, I'd imagine they would have just detonated the bomb.

 

[spermatic cord]

Surprised by the degree of disappointment in this thread. Saw it last night and enjoyed it. Perhaps not the greatest film in the trilogy, but good.

However, one thing drove me nuts: I totally recognized the cop who gave the order to blow the bridge, but couldn't put my finger on who he was. Anyone?

Quinn from Dexter

 

[Daft_Cat]

This film's conflict reminded me a lot of Arkham City. In fact, I probably prefer a lot about the story of that game to this film. Divisive statement, I know. I'm still thinking things through right now.

I do think the Joker would've been amazing in this film, but he ultimately would've just been one more element crowding up the scene.

Nolan's original 400 page script probably works wonderfully as a novel. Unfortunately...he chose to condense rather than adapt the material properly into under three hours.

Like I said in the other thread..."TDKR feels like a film full of what should be lingering, haunting moments..So full, in fact, that it has to blaze through them as fast as it can."

All the prison stuff was, thematically, the strongest material in the film. I think it should've been sprinkled throughout the film's first two acts, with the rest of the story's first 90 or so minutes told through flashbacks...just like Batman Begins. Spreading out his recovery would've added more investment and weight to all the failed escape attempts. It would've also increased our interest in discovering how exactly Bruce got fucked up. Then, once Bruce escapes, the third act would've begun with a bang without the second act feeling like it gets bogged down for too long. That feels like a huge wasted opportunity to me. After all, it's essentially what Batman Begins did, structurally speaking.

 

[JayVoDaKing]

REMEMBER AURORA!!! is the breakdown of the Title ...if no one figured it out...yet

 

[brucewaynegretzky]

This film's conflict reminded me a lot of Arkham City. In fact, I probably prefer a lot about the story of that game to this film. Divisive statement, I know. I'm still thinking things through right now.

I'll take this a step further. Every Batman story Paul Dini has ever written is superior to any live action portrayal of Batman ever.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

=
Nolan's original 400 page script probably works wonderfully as a novel. Unfortunately...he chose to condense rather than adapt the material properly into under three hours.

I wonder if he will ever released the script. I remember an Inception script being published.

 

[IGotBillySoSpooked]

Quinn from Dexter

Was it actually him?

I looked on IMDB after I got home from the movie and it wasn't on his filmography. Either an uncredited role or a guy that just happens to really look like him.

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

This film's conflict reminded me a lot of Arkham City. In fact, I probably prefer a lot about the story of that game to this film. Divisive statement, I know. I'm still thinking things through right now.

I do think the Joker would've been amazing in this film, but he ultimately would've just been one more element crowding up the scene.

Nolan's original 400 page script probably works wonderfully as a novel. Unfortunately...he chose to condense rather than adapt the material properly into under three hours.

Like I said in the other thread..."TDKR feels like a film full of what should be lingering, haunting moments..So full, in fact, that it has to blaze through them as fast as it can."

All the prison stuff was, thematically, the strongest material in the film. I think it should've been sprinkled throughout the film's first two acts, with the rest of the film told through flashbacks like Batman Begins. Then, once Bruce escapes, the third act would begin with a bang without the second act feeling like it gets bogged down for too long. That feels like a huge wasted opportunity to me.

I think the entire police functioning in anarchy plot should have been removed. Aside from eating up a considerable amount of the film's running time, it also told us exactly how the final confrontation was going to play out, with the police eventually being saved and going on to face the mob. All we needed to see was Batman making an escape hole for the underground police, and then we'd get the climatic battle. The police plotting to create an escape was completely unnecessary.

Speaking of climatic, how ant-climatic was Bruce's return to Gotham after escaping the prison?!

 

[Eiolon]

Alright, so I enjoyed the film. Not as much as TDK, but more than BB, even though I feel it was a hybrid of the two films.

While I enjoyed the film, I hated the ending. It was touted as a definitive ending and I think Nolan pulled a bigger fuck you than David Chase did with the Soprano's ending. It does nothing more than leave it wide-open for another film, which really sucks because it's not going to be in Nolan's universe, and we know Bale and probably the rest of the cast are not coming back.

When I saw the nuke go off, I was like, they did it. Warner Bros. actually had the balls to kill him off. I mean, I knew Nolan had the balls, I just didn't think the suits would let him do it. They are just going to do another reboot of the franchise any ways, so why not go out with a bang?

I had an idea John Blake was going to pick up the mantle and become the next Batman. Then when the will accessor said his real name was "Robin" I was like WTF is this shit. Bruce better stay dead. Besides, who becomes Robin with the real name of Robin?

Then I saw Alfred sitting down at that cafe like he dreamed he would do one day and see Bruce. Then I knew it was done. I knew that Bruce somehow flew the bomb out to see and survived; supposedly on auto-pilot, as Lucias kept reminding the audience throughout the movie.

So now is Bruce still Batman and he has a side-kick, or is Blake the new Batman?

Overall, I felt it was a really cheap ending. I really wish they stuck with the death of Bruce Wayne. It's a shame because the ending is what I am going to remember the most about the film and I did not like the ending. But someone, as a whole, I though the film was pretty good.

 

[micster]

I wonder if he will ever released the script. I remember an Inception script being published.

I know a couple of months after TDK was released, WB released the script for free online. The Inception Shooting Script was released as a book, though.


I just remembered the one bit I really felt was unnecessary in the end act. When Gordon drops the silver box and has to catch it whilst on the truck. The scene was already really intense, him dropping it was more sigh worthy than building even more tension.

 

[Tookay]

This film's conflict reminded me a lot of Arkham City. In fact, I probably prefer a lot about the story of that game to this film. Divisive statement, I know. I'm still thinking things through right now.

I do think the Joker would've been amazing in this film, but he ultimately would've just been one more element crowding up the scene.

Nolan's original 400 page script probably works wonderfully as a novel. Unfortunately...he chose to condense rather than adapt the material properly into under three hours.

Like I said in the other thread..."TDKR feels like a film full of what should be lingering, haunting moments..So full, in fact, that it has to blaze through them as fast as it can."

All the prison stuff was, thematically, the strongest material in the film. I think it should've been sprinkled throughout the film's first two acts, with the rest of the story's first 90 or so minutes told through flashbacks...just like Batman Begins. Spreading out his recovery would've added more investment and weight to all the failed escape attempts. Then, once Bruce escapes, the third act would've begun with a bang without the second act feeling like it gets bogged down for too long. That feels like a huge wasted opportunity to me. After all, it's essentially what Batman Begins did, structurally speaking.

Totally agree. This movie is, thematically and conceptually speaking, fantastic. But few of the emotional beats land with any impact, because it rushes through the groundwork in setting it up.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Alright, so I enjoyed the film. Not as much as TDK, but more than BB, even though I feel it was a hybrid of the two films.

While I enjoyed the film, I hated the ending. It was touted as a definitive ending and I think Nolan pulled a bigger fuck you than David Chase did with the Soprano's ending. It does nothing more than leave it wide-open for another film, which really sucks because it's not going to be in Nolan's universe, and we know Bale and probably the rest of the cast are not coming back.

When I saw the nuke go off, I was like, they did it. Warner Bros. actually had the balls to kill him off. I mean, I knew Nolan had the balls, I just didn't think the suits would let him do it. They are just going to do another reboot of the franchise any ways, so why not go out with a bang?

I had an idea John Blake was going to pick up the mantle and become the next Batman. Then when the will accessor said his real name was "Robin" I was like WTF is this shit. Bruce better stay dead. Besides, who becomes Robin with the real name of Robin?

Then I saw Alfred sitting down at that cafe like he dreamed he would do one day and see Bruce. Then I knew it was done. I knew that Bruce somehow flew the bomb out to see and survived; supposedly on auto-pilot, as Lucias kept reminding the audience throughout the movie.

So now is Bruce still Batman and he has a side-kick, or is Blake the new Batman?

Overall, I felt it was a really cheap ending. I really wish they stuck with the death of Bruce Wayne. It's a shame because the ending is what I am going to remember the most about the film and I did not like the ending. But someone, as a whole, I though the film was pretty good.

If they'd ended it that way, they would have left the issue of Alfred and Bruce's falling out untouched. Patching it up and making it more poignant was a better idea for an ending, I felt. Just killing him off and ending it with the black fading over the Batman statue would have left me with a sour taste in my mouth, I think.

 

[Router]

I had an idea John Blake was going to pick up the mantle and become the next Batman. Then when the will accessor said his real name was "Robin" I was like WTF is this shit. Bruce better stay dead. Besides, who becomes Robin with the real name of Robin?


So now is Bruce still Batman and he has a side-kick, or is Blake the new Batman?

His name is meaningless. Just a stupid line for stupid audience members to go "OH MY GOD"

Bruce is retired. Blake is no doubt the next Batman in that universe... Not that we will ever see it.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Seeing it again in Imax in the city.

 

[Sanjuro]

Overall, I felt it was a really cheap ending. I really wish they stuck with the death of Bruce Wayne. It's a shame because the ending is what I am going to remember the most about the film and I did not like the ending. But someone, as a whole, I though the film was pretty good.

I'm not sure what you mean "Stuck with the death of Bruce Wayne". I don't believe most people believed they would kill off the main character of the trilogy, and don't believe that it would have served any sort of emotional purpose in doing so.

If they did kill him, people would be leaving the theater saying "Oh, he's dead? Okay..." to conclude one of the most successful film franchies of all time.

 

[EatChildren]

Saw it on Friday night. Weakest of the three films (so BB > TDK > TDKR for me), but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of little issues with some narrative holes, cheesy dialogue, and underwhelming climaxes (Bane's end was weak), and a bigger issue with a film that felt a bit too long and drawn out for its own good. Pacing was off.

Otherwise Bane totally fucking owned in every scene he was in, Hathaway is oh my god so fucking sexy, and the plot/themes were excellent. Batman/Wane's development arc works well, and seeing Bane's plan unfold over the course of the film was really cool. Good action scenes too.

I think the slow burn souring of Prometheus helped lower my subconscious anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises, and I enjoyed it more than I would have had I gone in with outrageously lofty expectations. And unlike Prometheus I don't find myself reflecting negatively. The film has problems, but the ride was a lot of fun and I'll happily see and enjoy it again. Great end to Nolan's Batman trilogy.

 

[The Technomancer]

I think the entire police functioning in anarchy plot should have been removed. Aside from eating up a considerable amount of the film's running time, it also told us exactly how the final confrontation was going to play out, with the police eventually being saved and going on to face the mob. All we needed to see was Batman making an escape hole for the underground police, and then we'd get the climatic battle. The police plotting to create an escape was completely unnecessary.

Speaking of climatic, how ant-climatic was Bruce's return to Gotham after escaping the prison?!

The entire anarchy plot, for as much of it was of the movie, should have been re-thought out or better executed. I still don't buy everyone going from "holy shit he has a nuke" to "lets piss on the bodies of the bourgeois!"
Because everyone knows poor people are just waiting for an opportunity to rise up and strike down those with more then them out of jealousy and resentment.

 

[longdi]

why didnt talia just go ahead and kidnap the nuclear scientist and build herself a new bomb? hated the bomb plot, nolan must have felt oh shit the avengers did it and did it better. it is easier to shoot an exciting scene with a flying ironman than a boring mechplane...

seriously felt bb and tdkr should be back to back films with some of the fats trim.

 

[Sanjuro]

Saw it on Friday night. Weakest of the three films (so BB > TDK > TDKR for me), but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of little issues with some narrative holes, cheesy dialogue, and underwhelming climaxes (Bane's end was weak), and a bigger issue with a film that felt a bit too long and drawn out for its own good. Pacing was off.

Otherwise Bane totally fucking owned in every scene he was in, Hathaway is oh my god so fucking sexy, and the plot/themes were excellent. Batman/Wane's development arc works well, and seeing Bane's plan unfold over the course of the film was really cool. Good action scenes too.

I think the slow burn souring of Prometheus helped lower my subconscious anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises, and I enjoyed it more than I would have had I gone in with outrageously lofty expectations. And unlike Prometheus I don't find myself reflecting negatively. The film has problems, but the ride was a lot of fun and I'll happily see and enjoy it again. Great end to Nolan's Batman trilogy.

I'm seeing it again today, I feel like this film, unlike the rest has so much more to absorb. I do like this aspect, as each entry in the series is unique on it's own. Out of the three, this felt much more like the comics that inspired the film than the rest of the trilogy.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I have to wait until tomorrow night to see it again. Arrrrg.

Maybe I'll waste the day away watching some old Batman TAS episodes or something.

 

[Daft_Cat]

I still don't buy everyone going from "holy shit he has a nuke" to "lets piss on the bodies of the bourgeois!"
Because everyone knows poor people are just waiting for an opportunity to rise up and strike down those with more then them out of jealousy and resentment.

Those two ideas did not fit comfortably with one another. I had assumed the "device" was going to be used exclusively as a way to keep the Government out and the people in, giving Bane a chance to truly execute a social revolution.

Then the nuke kind of just became the point and all the anarchy stuff felt under-developed.

 

[Gilgamesh]

God damn was Zimmer's cacophony in this movie overbearing. It almost drowned out the dialogue at points.

And Bane's dialogue was pushed so forward and loud in the sound mix for comprehensibility it sounded ridiculous.

 

[The Technomancer]

Those two ideas did not fit comfortably with one another. I had assumed the "device" was going to be used exclusively as a way to keep the Government out and the people in, giving Bane a chance to truly execute a social revolution.

Then the nuke kind of just became the point and all the anarchy stuff felt under-developed.

You know how it would have worked? Bane cuts off communication with the outside world, tells the government that he has a nuke and is threatening to detonate, but doesn't tell Gotham. Blowing up half the city is already a good show of his power, and then the people inside Gotham start to wonder why it is no-one is coming to help them, and that fear and confusion at seemingly being abandoned pushes them over the edge.

 

[Randdalf]

God damn was Zimmer's cacophony in this movie overbearing. It almost drowned out the dialogue at points.

And Bane's dialogue was pushed so forward and loud in the sound mix for comprehensibility it sounded ridiculous.

I agree about Zimmer, but Bane's sound mixing was necessary and if anything it made him more menacing and magnetic a presence on screen.

 

[Quackula]

I find all the "it's too long/drawn out" comments to be kinda weird.

Movie flew by really fast for me. Maybe a little too fast even.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

You know how it would have worked? Bane cuts off communication with the outside world, tells the government that he has a nuke and is threatening to detonate, but doesn't tell Gotham. Blowing up half the city is already a good show of his power, and then the people inside Gotham start to wonder why it is no-one is coming to help them, and that fear and confusion at seemingly being abandoned pushes them over the edge.

Yea. Dont write a movie. I know you think you could do better. But just leave it to the professionals

 

[Salvor.Hardin]

The entire anarchy plot, for as much of it was of the movie, should have been re-thought out or better executed. I still don't buy everyone going from "holy shit he has a nuke" to "lets piss on the bodies of the bourgeois!"
Because everyone knows poor people are just waiting for an opportunity to rise up and strike down those with more then them out of jealousy and resentment.

Yeah that felt odd as well. I also felt that it never really clarified whether the League had won any considerable support from the poor public, whether there actually was any deeper anarchy aside from looting, or if at the end of the day it was just the League and a few crazy inmates that were making all the decisions.

At the end, the League's intentions were unclear, and their achievement even moreso. This film didn't execute the themes it set up. Gotham's position throughout was a bit of a muddled narrative mess.

 

[The Technomancer]

I agree about Zimmer, but Bane's sound mixing was necessary and if anything it made him more menacing and magnetic a presence on screen.

Bane's sound mixing was amazing and sometimes hilarious. In the opening scene I was seriusly wondering if he'd sound like that for the entire movie because he sounded like Sean Connery with a Vocoder. They tweaked it a bit it seems in other scenes but it would have been hilarious if they kept it.

 

[Daft_Cat]

You know how it would have worked? Bane cuts off communication with the outside world, tells the government that he has a nuke and is threatening to detonate, but doesn't tell Gotham. Blowing up half the city is already a good show of his power, and then the people inside Gotham start to wonder why it is no-one is coming to help them, and that fear and confusion at seemingly being abandoned pushes them over the edge.

Brilliant idea.

I'll admit that I did originally enjoy the paranoia Bane created by telling the citizens that one of them had a detonator..but they never went anywhere with that idea, really.

Yea. Dont write a movie. I know you think you could do better. But just leave it to the professionals

His idea is much better, though. It's hard for us to sit back here and discuss our issues with the movie without discussing what might've made it better!

 

[The Technomancer]

Yea. Dont write a movie. I know you think you could do better. But just leave it to the professionals

Actual criticism would be nice

Brilliant idea.

I'll admit that I did originally enjoy the paranoia Bane created by telling the citizens that one of them had a detonator..but they never went anywhere with that idea, really.

Oh yeah, I was really expecting that to turn into something, but it didn't. It kind of makes sense, its hard to play that kind of psychological game with millions of people (much more effective if you have a room of say...ten, and you tell them that one of them can kill them all) but still

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I find all the "it's too long/drawn out" comments to be kinda weird.

Movie flew by really fast for me. Maybe a little too fast even.

This movie was like a big but really tasty meal to me.

I savored every bite, but still felt kinda disappointed that it was over when it ended. But I smiled and pat my satisfied tummy just the same.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Bane was awesome in the beginning and then he just...didn't...go....anywhere. I kept waiting for the potential of this great character to be realized.

Where was there left to go? He dominated the entire film until the end.

 

[Draconian]

God damn was Zimmer's cacophony in this movie overbearing. It almost drowned out the dialogue at points.

And Bane's dialogue was pushed so forward and loud in the sound mix for comprehensibility it sounded ridiculous.

Probably because everybody was mocking how they couldn't understand a word he was saying in the prologue. I was a fan though. He sound pretty terrifying and he was creeping me out, particularly in the first half of the movie.

 

[F#A#Oo]

Did anyone else let out a laugh with the scene of catwoman riding the bike which sounded like a vacuum cleaner? I don't remember the bike sounding like that but it made me laugh.

 

[Speedymanic]

Regarding the end, I really do think that Bruce is dead and that Alfred only imagined him being there.

Bruce had finally found someone to take on the role of Batman after him, a new protector for the city if it ever needs one, he had nothing left to live for, the love of his life was dead, his most trusted and beloved friend had left him, there was literally nothing left for him to live for. He may have fixed the auto pilot, but I'm positive he chose to sacrifice himself, the past movies had been leading up to this moment where he finally gives everything to save Gotham and it absolutely fits with the theme that the ultimate sacrifice is all that can save the city.

Some or most will disagree, but as Shaw would say - it's what I choose to believe.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Actual criticism would be nice

im one of those people who, unless it was really really bad, then I just accept it for it what it is. with that said, I enjoyed the film so I didn't feel a need to find flaws and figure out what could make it better as it would be an exercise in futility.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I agree about Zimmer, but Bane's sound mixing was necessary and if anything it made him more menacing and magnetic a presence on screen.

I can see where you're coming from, but for me all it did was create a disconnect between the character on screen and the voice that was supposed to be his.

I did appreciate being able to understand his dialogue because of it, but a better solution to the problem would have been simply scaling back the distortion.

 

[criesofthepast]

Regarding the end, I really do think that Bruce is dead and that Alfred only imagined him being there.

Bruce had finally found someone to take on the role of Batman after him, a new protector for the city if it ever needs one, he had nothing left to live for, the love of his life was dead, his most trusted and beloved friend had left him, there was literally nothing left for him to live for. He may have fixed the auto pilot, but I'm positive he chose to sacrifice himself, the past movies had been leading up to this moment where he finally gives everything to save Gotham and it absolutely fits with the theme that the ultimate sacrifice is all that can save the city.

Some or most will disagree, but as Shaw would say - it's what I choose to believe.

 

[Wilbur]

Regarding the end, I really do think that Bruce is dead and that Alfred only imagined him being there.

Bruce had finally found someone to take on the role of Batman after him, a new protector for the city if it ever needs one, he had nothing left to live for, the love of his life was dead, his most trusted and beloved friend had left him, there was literally nothing left for him to live for. He may have fixed the auto pilot, but I'm positive he chose to sacrifice himself, the past movies had been leading up to this moment where he finally gives everything to save Gotham and it absolutely fits with the theme that the ultimate sacrifice is all that can save the city.

Some or most will disagree, but as Shaw would say - it's what I choose to believe.

Explaining the autopilot was fixed makes no sense if he faked it

 

[SJRB]

Bane, the hulking and relentless brute "born and raised in hell on earth". O wait he sheds a tear at the end of the movie, I guess he's just an ordinary man like you and me only with a troublesome past.

 

[The Technomancer]

Explaining the autopilot was fixed makes no sense if he faked it

That pissed me off. I'm so tired of the "the main character fakes his own death and we close with a shot of him still alive" trope.

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

Regarding the end, I really do think that Bruce is dead and that Alfred only imagined him being there.

Bruce had finally found someone to take on the role of Batman after him, a new protector for the city if it ever needs one, he had nothing left to live for, the love of his life was dead, his most trusted and beloved friend had left him, there was literally nothing left for him to live for. He may have fixed the auto pilot, but I'm positive he chose to sacrifice himself, the past movies had been leading up to this moment where he finally gives everything to save Gotham and it absolutely fits with the theme that the ultimate sacrifice is all that can save the city.

Some or most will disagree, but as Shaw would say - it's what I choose to believe.

He imagined Selina Kyle there too?

 

[Gilgamesh]

Regarding the end, I really do think that Bruce is dead and that Alfred only imagined him being there.

Bruce had finally found someone to take on the role of Batman after him, a new protector for the city if it ever needs one, he had nothing left to live for, the love of his life was dead, his most trusted and beloved friend had left him, there was literally nothing left for him to live for. He may have fixed the auto pilot, but I'm positive he chose to sacrifice himself, the past movies had been leading up to this moment where he finally gives everything to save Gotham and it absolutely fits with the theme that the ultimate sacrifice is all that can save the city.

Some or most will disagree, but as Shaw would say - it's what I choose to believe.

Way too far fetched lol. Nothing in the film suggests this would be the case.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I actually hated that bit, felt too abrupt and unearned.

I agree that the editing was a bit quick, and it felt like they were abruptly dumping crybaby Bane after the Talia twist, but I was fine with it being catowman's redemption point in the movie.

 

[Mononofu]

I know it's been said before but not establishing the prisons location in relation to Gotham city really bugs me. Yes the audience can except that Bruce is a place far away in the middle east, though he just as easily could have went to Mars and back without any transition shots. /nitpick

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

Overall, I felt it was a really cheap ending. I really wish they stuck with the death of Bruce Wayne. It's a shame because the ending is what I am going to remember the most about the film and I did not like the ending. But someone, as a whole, I though the film was pretty good.

An ending in which Bruce died would go against many of the points and developments in the film.

The film was a journey for Bruce/Batman, with him getting an epiphany in the prison scenes that death was something Batman almost embraced since he had no fear of it and that death should not be the end result, it did not make him stronger than having some fear of death. This was emphasised by Alfred earlier on in the film too. It was a stronger ending with having him accept that he could let go of Batman (kill Batman in a sense), pass on the symbol and cowl to another and live his life (whatever was left of it). That was a much more powerful ending than simply dying in the expected self-sacrificing, brooding and dark manner the entire trilogy has pedalled his character as. I think it would have been too grim as well to the point of desensitisation: he lost his parents, he failed Harvey, he lost Rachel, he took the blame for Harvey's crimes, spent 8 years as a broken recluse, got his back damaged by Bane and finally emerged from that pit after that personal development in believing that he wanted to live - if you take all that and then kill him off in some sacrifice, it doesn't payoff very well.